Roaring Fork High School’s boys soccer and girls volleyball teams picked up key wins this week on the road, while the combined Basalt-Roaring Fork cross country team tuned up for a big meet this Friday.
A rare mid-week cross country meet brought area teams to the Rifle Creek Golf Course on Tuesday, Oct. 7 for the Rifle XC Invitational.
Basalt’s girls and boys teams treated this one as a trainer for the Warrior Lincoln Park Classic at Grand Junction on Oct. 10, either resting or slowing the pace for their top runners, as did Coal Ridge.
In fact, one of the state’s top female 3A runners, Coal Ridge junior Effie Fletcher, along with some of her teammates, were seen doing a tempo run on the course before the girls race, but did not compete.
The diminished field gave some of the region’s other top runners a chance to shine, including Colorado Rocky Mountain School sophomore Kayla Steele from Carbondale, who won the girls race at the Rifle meet.
Among the top runners for Basalt were freshman Scarlett Jones, senior Caroline Cole, freshman Maggie Cole, juniors Sadie Silcox, Karysa Close and Miley Stuart, and sophomore Kinley Richmond.
Official results and times were not available as of press time for this report.
Basalt’s No. 1 runner for the boys, senior Towler Scott, also sat this one out, as he’ll be competing for a top finish at Grand Junction on Friday.
The team is also gearing up for their state-qualifying 3A Regional meet on Oct. 24 in Craig.
Soccer
The Rams boys soccer team improved to 7-2-1 overall, and 4-1 in the 3A Western Slope League (WSL), with a crucial 2-1 win at Aspen on Tuesday, battling back from a 1-0 deficit at halftime to score two goals in the second half.
After a disappointing 1-2 loss to Basalt on Sept. 30, the Rams got back on track with a 3-1 win over Delta for their homecoming game on Thursday, Oct. 2.
After holding a 1-1 tie at halftime, the Rams connected for two unanswered goals in the second half to secure the win. Junior Oliver Shook had two goals for the night, with the other coming from junior Cal Stone. Junior goalie Garrett Woelfle recorded 10 saves.
Next, Roaring Fork hosts Glenwood Springs on Thursday, Oct. 9 at Rams Field at 6pm.
Volleyball
Roaring Fork’s volleyball team righted the ship after a pair of losses, claiming a 3-0 win over 3A WSL foe Grand Valley on Tuesday (25-23, 25-24, 25-21).
The win moved the Rams to 5-11 and evened up their league mark to 3-3.
On Friday, Oct. 3, the Rams lost their homecoming game to Gunnison, 3-0 (15-25, 24-26, 11-25).
Next, Roaring Fork travels to play at Moffat County on Thursday, with a home match versus Basalt coming up on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 6:30pm varsity start.
In other action …
The Basalt High School combined boys tennis team will have a chance to qualify its singles and doubles athletes for the state tournament at the Class 4A Region 8 tournament on Thursday, Oct. 9 in Grand Junction.
And the combined Basalt girls softball team picked up an 18-2 at Aspen on Oct. 2, before falling 7-2 at home against Rifle on Tuesday. The Longhorns (5-16 overall, 3-7 in league) close out the regular season with a double header at Gunnison on Saturday, Oct. 11.